


The Gale Breath Gauntlet

by TheSofterGentlerMe



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: ADVENTURE!, Father and Daughter going on a frightening sea journey, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26257807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSofterGentlerMe/pseuds/TheSofterGentlerMe
Summary: Cowrie, the daughter of Sea Hawk and Mermista, has got a little sailing jaunt planned to try and beat her father's record through the Gale Breath Gauntlet.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	The Gale Breath Gauntlet

**Author's Note:**

> Shall we?

The wind screamed in the rigging and it seemed like the only difference in the rain and the waves was in which direction it struck the ship. Cowrie held the wheel tight with a fierce grin while her father stood beside her in wide-eyed terror. She shouted in a voice loud enough to be heard over the wind at one of her crew and the crew member jumped to comply with the command. 

“Honey, dearest, maybe we should turn back!” Sea Hawk said. 

Cowrie looked her father straight in his eyes and said, “Why, Father dearest? It’s just the Gale Breath Gauntlet! You’ve done this before, surely you’re not worried?” 

As the ship pitched violently up a wave and then plunged down, Sea Hawk fought to keep his stance and said, “Well, no dear, not really, just, you know, the um… yes, the crew, the crew probably is scared. You should always have care for the crew.” 

Cowrie shouted out again and said, “Anyone scared or are we having a good time!?” 

The crew turned to their captain with a gleeful shout as lighting struck a nearby rocky point.

“See!? They love it! Or are you just worried I’m actually going to do this in under 20 klicks and beat your record?” Cowrie said as she deftly slipped the ship around a pile of rocks in the narrow strait. 

Sea Hawk watched the rocks glide past so close that he could count the number of deck cleats on the ship that lay shattered on them and took another breath. He remembered when Cowrie had come to him with a stack of charts and bathymetry surveys and said that she had found an even shorter way through the Gale Breath Gauntlet then he had famously run years before. 

“I can trim at least one klick, probably more, off your run,” Cowrie said. 

Sea Hawk was nervous as he studied the charts carefully. He remembered when he’d made the run when he was young and reckless and remembered just how wild the run had been and how dangerous. He pointed out a few issues that Cowrie countered with sound plans before he finally saw what he was sure would end the discussion with her staying safely out of the Gauntlet. 

“Sweetheart, you missed this. It’s critical for you to make the run but see right here,” he said, pointing at one narrow channel marked as the Traitor’s Gates on the chart. “The depth is about three feet too shallow for you. You seem to have it well in hand and I’d say go for it but it’s too bad you won’t be able to make it through.” 

Cowrie nodded agreement with him and said, “Oh, yes, I see that. So you think other than that it would have worked?”

Sea Hawk smiled at his daughter and said, “Of course! Too bad that it’s there, it would have been glorious for you to make that run!” 

Cowrie grinned slyly and said, “Well, I’m glad you said that because what do you know, I’ve already taken it into account. In three days, the moons will be aligned right and create an incredibly high tide. If I time it right, the water will be high enough in the channel that my ship should clear with plenty of room to spare, and I’ll shoot right through. I’m glad you don’t have any other objections because I’m already having the ship outfitted and I need to go check on it.” 

Sea Hawk looked in horror and said, “What would your dear departed Mother say about this!?” 

Cowrie rolled her eyes and said, “Will you please stop referring to her like that? She’s only been gone for a week to Glimmer’s retreat, she’s not dead. And let’s be honest, she’d gripe just like you are and in the end I’d still do it.” 

Sea Hawk started to say, “Cowrie, no, you can’t! You’re only…”

“Finish that sentence with some declaration of my age and not only am I going to never let you hear the end of it, I’m calling Auntie Frosta and sic’ing her on you,” Cowrie said with a level look.

Sea Hawk remembered that look as he heard the masts of the ship groaning in the rising wind and wished he’d argued more with Cowrie. She listened to the sounds of the ship as well and turned to her first mate, a hulking presence covered in scars and tattoos with less fingers than toes and less of those than the standard set, and said, “Slick, I think we can put up the main royal. Make it happen would you?” 

Slick gave a nod and then started shouting orders as the crew scurried up the lines and started raising another sail. It took Sea Hawk a moment to process just what Cowrie had ordered.

“Are you  _ mad!? _ You can’t put up another sail! The wind is already bad enough and it’s getting faster! You’ll rip your main mast right out of your deck!” Sea Hawk yelled in terror as the sail furled out and the groaning of the ship increased.

Cowrie looked at her father with what he thought of as madness in her eyes and what the crew knew as sheer bravado and said, “Why Father, you  _ are _ scared! I honestly didn’t think you had it in you! Would it make you feel better if I set it on fire too?” 

Sea Hawk opened his mouth a few times to try and say something and found he was at a loss for words. He hung on to the railing in front of him tighter. He’d never been in a shipwreck before, at least not one that wasn’t on fire and of his own doing in one way or another, and his mind raced as he tried to think what to do. Meanwhile, Cowrie calmly looked down at a clock and compass in the wheel and looked out into the storm and turned the ship a few degrees. 

“We’re in the final leg to Traitor’s Gates!” she hollered out.

The crew gave a cheer back that was barely audible over the wind. In a short time, they could see the towering rocks on either side of the channel that marked the narrowest point. Cowrie looked at the clock again, gave a quick reference to a list she had tacked to the wheel and shouted at Sea Hawk, “Don’t worry, Father! We’re right on time for the tide! We should clear without any problems!” 

Sea Hawk, feeling like he was going to throw up, said, “You said it’s a sand bottom just in case, right?” 

“I may have but let’s be honest, if it is then it’s sand with a whole bunch of rock on it,” Cowrie said with a wicked grin. 

As they raced into the passage Cowrie could feel the current fighting with the ship as the water rushed through the narrow channel and she gave all her attention on keeping the ship on course. The wheel fought her and Cowrie leaned into it with all her strength and held it fast. The crew, having done all they could for the moment, all held tight to their lifelines and waited with full trust in their young captain. 

Sea Hawk watched his daughter as her face went from gleeful to stolid and stern. Her eyes looked all around and she stood in place, as solid and immobile as a statue. She normally reminded him of himself in so many ways but in this moment, facing down screaming forces of nature without blinking, she truly was her mother’s child. 

In that moment he pushed down his fears, trusted in his daughter, and as they passed through the narrowest, shallowest part of the Traitor’s Gates with room to spare as she had predicted, he threw his fist into the air and screamed, “ADVENTURE!” 

Later, as they sailed out of the last of the Gale Breath Gauntlet and after the storm had blown out, Cowrie sat at a table behind the wheel and made a few calculations. Slick kept one hand on the wheel as Sea Hawk lay out on the deck next to Cowrie, exhausted, and asked her, “What are you working on, Honey?” 

Cowrie didn’t answer for a moment as she finished up and then looked down at him and said, “Eighteen point seven five klicks.”

As realization of what she meant dawned on Sea Hawk he gave a wicked grin and jumped up as she stood and went to the rail overlooking the ship as the crew cleaned up and checked gear and rigging and shouted out, “We did the run in eighteen point seven five klicks, you dogs!”

The crew cheered and Sea Hawk grabbed his daughter and hoisted her into the air and shouted, “For Cowrie and the best time  _ ever  _ through the Gale Breath Gauntlet! May the time never fall!” 

The crew gave another louder cheer as Sea Hawk brought her back to the deck and she gave him a fierce hug. 

Sea Hawk hugged her tightly back and said, “You’re mad but I love you and I’m incredibly proud of you.” 

“Thanks, Dad. I love you too,” Cowrie said as she hugged him and as they stepped apart she continued. “And thank you for not actually setting the ship on fire.” 

  
He swept his arm towards the horizon with his other arm around her shoulder and said, “The voyage isn’t over yet! Who knows what  _ adventure _ awaits?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one! 
> 
> Not much to say other than I really wanted to write up a little sailing ADVENTURE with father and daughter together and I remember in Sea Hawk's introduction in the show how he bragged about doing the Gale Breath Gauntlet in 20 klicks. It's both a lovely meta joke on Han Solo (as is Sea Hawk's whole introduction) and in my case, a great idea for a fic.


End file.
